Blast from the past not good for Ohio State's future

Oct. 17, 2011

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News Journal

In his 10 years at the Ohio State helm, Jim Tressel spent more time honoring our armed forces than his late father's Hall of Fame legacy as an innovative coach.

So J.T., to borrow his pen name as a sports writer for the Baldwin-Wallace student newspaper, should be ecstatic on two fronts.

The Buckeyes' 17-7 win over Illinois on Saturday is galling and yet galvanizing proof that Tresselball is alive and well and seared into the ultra-conservative noggin of offensive coordinator Jim Bollman.

By completing one pass and attempting only four, Ohio State cemented its place among the nation's bottom 10 passing offenses, right there at No. 115 in the Football Bowl Subdivision rankings below Air Force (113) and above Navy (118) and dead-last Army (120).

Wayne Woodrow Hayes would be so proud.

Ohio State fans who want some variety and excitement with their victories in an era of Xbox offenses? Not so much.

Unlike OSU, the military academies make no pretense about striving for offensive balance. Triple option is as much a part of that culture as reveille and latrine duty.

Here's what passed for triple option from Ohio State on Saturday: Option 1, "Boom" Herron to the left. Option 2, "Boom" Herron to the right. Option 3, Braxton Miller on the quarterback draw so "Boom" could catch his breath.

Dorothy and Toto handled a little wind off the plains better than the Buckeyes ever have on their sojourns to Champaign and always gusty Memorial Stadium. But you can't argue with the results. They've won nine in a row there, even with Tressel sitting on a lead last year and Bollman following suit after the Buckeyes took a commanding 3-0 lead on their first possession Saturday.

Fortunately for the Buckeyes, Herron is to the Illini what former OSU back Lydell Ross was to the Indiana Hoosiers. He was Lydell Mitchell (Google his name) against IU, Ross from "Friends" against everybody else.

Herron's success hasn't been limited to games against the guys in orange and blue, just more pronounced -- 320 rushing yards and five touchdowns in four games.

Because he's a repeat violator of NCAA rules and helped create the mushroom cloud of scandal that hangs over Ohio State, Herron is the most polarizing player in an OSU uniform these days.

It's fair to question coach Luke Fickell's decision to give the prodigal tailback such a prominent role in his first game back from a six-game suspension, especially at the expense of Carlos Hyde, coming off the first 100-yard game of his career at Nebraska.

It's also fair to argue that Herron served his punishment and that his fresh legs and senior moxie were exactly what the Buckeyes needed to pull off their grounded approach.

In hindsight, we can all concede it was a sound strategy, given the redemptive performance by an OSU defense that had collapsed in Lincoln. John Simon had the signature game we've been waiting for, with a career-high eight tackles, two sacks and four tackles for loss, the most by a Buckeye in four years.

Cornerback Bradley Roby and the tag-team of Tyler Moeller and Storm Klein came up with pivotal takeaways, putting the offense within striking range. And Travis Howard made up for some leaky play in past weeks with a late interception to help foil Illinois' comeback attempt.

The wind neutered the Illini's downfield passing game, making it easier for Ohio State to defend explosive receiver A.J. Jenkins and its own embattled play-caller. Better to be Jim Bollman today than Ron Zook, who has to explain how his unbeaten, nationally-ranked Illini lost at home to a team that completed one pass -- two less than blizzard-blinded Ohio State mustered in the famous 1950 Snow Bowl.

But this season should also be about the week-to-week development of the Buckeyes' freshman quarterback and his young receivers. Don't see how that was achieved by throwing four passes.

A happy medium would have been something between Nathan's Scheelhaase's 20 completions (not including two to Buckeyes) and Miller's one.

At least the Buckeyes have two weeks to get ready for Wisconsin, plenty of time for Bollman to relocate the updated playbook he left in Lincoln. Plenty of time, too, to make sure the Nike Pro Combat uniforms unveiled against the Badgers fit just right.

Jon Spencer is in his 25th year of covering Ohio State football for the Mansfield News Journal and Media Network of Central Ohio.